The present invention relates to a copying device which permits a panoramic view to be reproduced rapidly and easily, this broad concept of panoramic including a wide range of possibilities, such as landscapes, figures, etc. and which is referred to as a VIDEOGRAPH.
The device of the present invention is based on the use of a screen which defines two like sectors, one of which is transparent, so that a determined panorama, perfectly centered with the help of an element for positioning the point of vision, is visible therethrough. The image which is visible through the transparent sector of the screen, is transferable by means of a ruler-tandem transfer system to the other sector which will be referred to as a graphic sector, whereat there is located a suitable receiving element, such as paper, a board, or the like.
The transfer system includes a slidable ruler and a graphic transfer member or tandem.
The ruler is vertical, is capable of sliding transversally along an assembly comprised of the screen, and is provided with a longitudinal slot through which the tandem itself is capable of sliding vertically, in such a way that a tracking point of the tandem is capable of voluntarily travelling along the complete surface of the transparent sector of the screen, while a writing point of the tandem is in turn capable of travelling along the complete surface of the graphic board, thus maintaining a permanent, accurate correspondence between both sectors of the screen.
More concretely, the screen is preferably provided with a frame through which it is joined to a corresponding fixing or supporting element, such as for example a tripod, a stand, a table or any other suitable element, which frame should be capable of turning with respect to the supporting element, in order to achieve the most suitable position therefor.
Likewise the screen can, optionally, be folded at the line of separation between the two sectors thereof, to facilitate transportation of the same.
The ruler should move along the screen without constituting an obstacle to vision, without departing from its vertical alignment and without swaying. Accordingly, the ruler is made from a transparent material, the ends of the ruler are provided with lateral extensions which define guide surfaces for the displacement of the ruler with respect to the frame of the screen, and the ruler is suitably designed so as to slide smoothly, moved by the guides of its ends, either by sliding or by rolling on wheels or bearings. Likewise, the frame can optionally be provided with a central cross-member corresponding to the line of separation between the transparent sector of the screen and the graphic board, which guide will cooperate in the displacement of the ruler. For a better functioning of the assembly, the bearings will not only affect the bottom of the guides, but also the side walls thereof, such that a minimum friction exists between the frame and the ruler.
Nevertheless, the ruler can also function without rails, by means of a known wheel and thread system.
Likewise, the movement of the ruler by means of the pair of points of the transfer system can optionally be facilitated with the collaboration of lateral brackets located in the tandem, or with pole-like projections in the ruler which can fit into the tandem.
The tracking point may be installed in the tandem perpendicularly to the screen or in an inclined position with respect thereto, the nature of its effective friction end on the transparent sector of the screen being sufficiently soft so as to prevent the transparent screen from being scratched, in which case the tracking point is in condition to effect transfer of an image.
The writing point, in turn, can likewise adopt a perpendicular or oblique position with respect to the graphic board, being dismountably installed on the tandem in order to permit its progressive approaching to the graphic board as the operative end thereof is worn out, or the substitution thereof by another having like or distinct characteristics, when deemed necessary.
Clearly, the separation between the tracking point and the writing point should coincide with the height of either one of the two sectors of the screen since both should be identical, plus the space existing between them occupied by the intermediate line or cross member, when the same exists.
Due to the combined movement obtained from the transversal displacement of the ruler and the vertical displacement of the tandem, both the tracking point and the writing point can travel along the complete surface of the corresponding sectors of the screen.
To facilitate manipulation of the assembly, the tandem may be provided with a handle which cooperates in the displacement thereof, as well as a counterweight in the point.
At any suitable spot of the frame there is installed an ocular positioning element which will preferably be comprised of a binocular installed on a spacer which permits the distance of the point of observation to be voluntarily adjusted with respect to the transparent sector of the screen, as well as the angle of observation to be varied with respect thereto. Accordingly, the spacer will be mounted on the frame telescopically and in an oscillating manner.
Any one of two eyepieces of the binocular will be covered so as to permit the unilateral observation of the panorama to be copied, wherefore once the image has been followed with one of the two eyepieces and it is again followed with the other, there will be obtained a graphic superposition which gives a remarkable sensation of depth.
Complementing the described structure, it should also be pointed out that the transparent sector of the screen can be comprised of a dimensional magnifying or reducing glass, with the corresponding repercussion which this implies in the graphic board of the screen, or it can be comprised of a mirror on which the image is received by reflection.
Finally, it should also be pointed out that if the image is to be enlarged or reduced, the tracking tandem can be replaced by a pantograph.